Running Back’s intermittent mix series, Mastermix, is back. It’s a second time in the hot seat for the, well, master, Tony Humphries after his ‘best of’ mix for the label’s 15th anniversary. Dropping more in line with the previous Klaus Stockhausen & Boris Dlugosch and Ata & nd_baumecker mixes, this one zooms in at a pretty seminal point in Mr Humphries’s career, and arguably house music.

The time in question being where he split his time as resident of Club Zanzibar while holding down the regular gig at Kiss FM where he had responded to the call of Shep Pettibone to come on board. That combination gave him unique access to and the ability to then road test the biggest killers of the day into a virtuous circle between the dancefloor and radio waves. In fact, it’s difficult to think of many other DJs who’ve managed to run these two things in such an influential way, before or since. Then on top of this, and despite winding up in 1994, Tony has an almost complete set of recordings from those shows.

The mix has 23 tracks and swings in and out of the sounds of that first flush of house music. This is it, emerging, blinking, from a combination of high tempo soul and disco of the 80’s, absorbing the influences of nascent electronic music and a do it yourself attitude to form something fresh and unique. The records just stand up, no question. From the get go it’s a full on adrenaline rush. Dee Dee Brave’s ‘My My Lover (Tony Humphries Dub)’ makes for an electrifying starting point as virtuoso keys literally go mad to a pounding beat.

And it’s pretty much all in from there. Ranging from the hypnotic, soulful side of things with Jomanda ‘Make My Body Rock’ to tracks like Mae-I with it’s gospel influences and pure feel good vibe. The more filthy side of the music comes through with tracks like Jay Williams’ ‘Sweat’ or maybe you prefer it a bit more trancelike, try some Mondee Oliver then. Every shade of house is here, put together by one of the masters of the game. Essential.

Available in its many incarnations from Running Back on 19 June.